Today I wanted to do something different, I want to include some real witchy content to my blog for you to enjoy. Last christmas I came across a fun Yule preparation video by The Witches Cookery, and I decided I would try to make the Yule bread she made in that video.
I wanted to do this last year before Yule, but I ran out of time, and honestly, I was not feeling as spirited as I am feeling now. I am doing so much better mentally then last year, and I have undergone a lot of changes this year. I am very proud of the progress I have made.
So without further ado I would like to present the most wholesome Yule video out there, all credit going to the Witches' Cookery of course, for this fun Yule blog.
Yule preparations | Pagan Yule stories & history | Witch vlog
The History of Yule
Yule is traditionally celebrated between 21st of December and the 6th of January. Yule is the celebration of fertility but also remembering the death. It is also the season to the hunt that came after the harvest was done. It was also a time where the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thin. The dead will rise in only one form this time a year, as part of the Wild hunt which is let by the German god Wodan aka Odin.
Rituals during this time consisted of animal sacrifices to the gods to ensure fertility and good crops. The animals where prepared after the sacrifice into a Yule fest. A celebration in which gift giving was also not uncommon. Except for the sacrificing part, it sounds a lot like the christmas we celebrate today.
As Yule starts on the shortest day of the year, it was also celebrated as the rebirth of the sun. There are many rituals, tales associated with Yule, and the Wild Hunt might be the most interesting of them all.
Yule (Wagon) Bread Recipe
The ingredients:
200 ml milk (warm)
14g active dry yeast
100 g sugar
1 swig vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
500 g flour
100 g butter (soft)
1 pinch of salt
3 TBSP Rum or Amaretto or Milk with cinnamon
1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
50 g raisins (optional)
Water & sugar to drizzle (add cinnamon for extra taste)
Please make sure the eggs and butter are both at room temperature.
Put the yeast, and sugar in a bowl.
Warm the milk and poor it into the bowl with the sugar and yeast, then add the three egg yolks into the bowl, and let is sit for about 10 minutes until bubbles appear.
When they do, add the soft butter and flower into the mixture.
Stir and add three tablespoons of rum in the mixture. You could also use Amaretto if do not have rum at home. I used the Kraken Rum we have on our shelf.
Then add a pinch of salt, I forgotten this step, and let me tell you, I could taste that it was missing, but if you have to lessen your salt in take, you can definitely make it without the salt, the bread will still taste delicous. But the salt would make it a bit more rich in flavour. Then add the zest of half a lemon, as well as the juice.
You can first stir the dough with a fork or with a spatula until the flower is a bit more incoporated and the dough does not stick as much to your hands.
When it doesn't stick to your hands add the raisins. I think for my next batch I would amend the recipe a bit on this part, and increase the quantity to 100 g of raisins instead, me and my boyfriend would have liked some more raisins. You could also soak them in rum, to make them more flavourful. When your have incorporated the raisins, let the mixture rest for about an hour in a warm place.
When rested dived the dough in 4 pieces. Roll a piece in a long string and then roll the ends inwards. Then do the same for a second piece an put that over the first so you have 4 little spirals.
Put it in the oven for about half an hour until it browns, in the meantime, prepare some water with sugar and cinnamon. When the Yule bread comes out of the oven drizzle some of the sugar water over your bread, then let it cool. Enjoy!
I had a lot of fun making these and they are delicous! So I will be making some more soon.
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